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2013 Single Vineyard Aszú wines

28 November 2017

Royal Tokaji release trilogy of 2013 Single Vineyard Aszú wines

It is with a mixture of delight and some relief that Royal Tokaji are finally able to announce the release of just 11,463 bottles of 2013 Single Vineyard Aszú wines from their trilogy of first growth vineyards: Betsek, Nyulászó and Szt Tamás. We believe that no vintage so far this century has delivered such perfectly balanced Aszú wines.

In 1990 Royal Tokaji was the first producer to revive the practice of making Single Vineyard Aszú wines. 2013 is only the fourth vintage since the millennium in which we have been able to make all three of these single vineyard wines. Not a single bottle was made between 2008 and 2013.

The winter of 2013 was mild but Mother Nature surprised us at the end of March with 10-12 cms of snow just before Easter. Many fruit orchards and some vineyards, such as Mézes Mály, were hit by frosts, but the higher vineyards escaped. By the end of June the vineyards had received two-thirds of the average annual rainfall, affecting the setting but fortunately didn't dramatically reduce the size of the harvest. After veraison the weather was miraculous with perfect conditions for the development of Aszú; misty mornings, warm drying winds blowing across The Great Plain of Hungary and sweeping the mists up into the vineyards.

Each Aszú berry is picked by hand selecting only the highest quality berries, with perfect botrytis. We can only expect each picker to bring in between 5 to 10kgs of berries a day. Aszú berries from each parcel were macerated in fermenting must for two days. After pressing and fermentation the wines had a perfect balance and were transferred into 300 litre second and third fill Hungarian oak casks for at least two years maturation in Royal Tokaji's deep underground cellars, prior to final selection and bottling.

Sharing the microclimate with Nyulászó, the Szt Tamás hill is the most notable feature of the commune of Mád and the most expensive hill in the Tokaji region. Planted with Furmint the earth is rich, red tinged clay due to the high mineral content in the soil.

Tasting Note: This wine is concentrated with big structure, elegant and graceful with a nose of orange peel mixed with honey. Lively acidity provides backbone and balance with intense richness and depth. Superb now with the promise of great longevity.

These wines will be available on allocation from wine merchants in leading Royal Tokaji markets around the world. The 2013 single vineyard wines are packed in wooden cases of 6 x 500ml bottles per case or a red lacquer presentation box with 2 bottles of each of the wines. In the UK they are initially available from BB & R, Cru and Farr Vintners at a retail price from £54 a bottle.